Mankato → Missoula
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Mankato to Missoula is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 91.0 to 96.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $190/mo.
- -$7,004
- BLS median salary lower in Missoula
- 259 to 426
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $256
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Missoula
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - 5% higher cost of living
- - $190/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $7K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 91.0 to 96.4, so the same paycheck buys less in Missoula (ratio 1.06). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $190/mo ($2,280/yr) from $1,171 in Mankato to $1,361 in Missoula.
Mankato still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Missoula sits #285 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Mankato is #93/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $7,004 lower ($70,136 → $63,132). Labor-market size: 48,900 tracked jobs at origin vs 60,010 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Minnesota 49 (F, #43/51) vs Montana 53 (D, #38/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 82
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Mankato to see what you'd need to earn in Missoula to maintain the same purchasing power.
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026